Mizzou Shaves Lives supports research to end childhood cancer

by Aubrey Jameson • April 17, 2015 • Comments Off on Mizzou Shaves Lives supports research to end childhood cancer

The sound of cheering and laughter filled up “The Shack” of the Student Center on Saturday, April 11. This is not unusual for a place where students usually go to hang out, watch sports and cheer on their favorite team. However, this time the cheers were for a different reason.

The sounds of exclamation were a result of the trivia event hosted by Mizzou Shaves Lives, an organization at the University of Missouri.

Sean “Dogger” Miller founded Mizzou Shaves Lives with the help of Louise Sarver and a team of friends. The goal of Mizzou Shaves Lives is to help support the cause of cancer research for kids. Dogger and Sarver both had a familiarity with the St. Balderick’s Foundation from high school, so they wanted to create an organization in college to benefit St. Baldrick’s.

“I worked with St. Balderick’s in high school. I shaved my sophomore, junior and senior year, and then led an event. So, I kinda had this picture of it in college and I told Louise and she jumped on board right away,” Dogger said.

In order to get the university’s support, Dogger and Sarver spent the first semester of work on their organization recruiting their team, writing up a constitution and getting a faculty adviser. Their second semester involved planning the Mizzou Shaves Lives event, advertising and fundraising. It is the passion of both Dogger and Sarver —to impact the lives of children in a great way.

“It’s really cool to see that they raise money for childhood cancer … We both did Mizzouthon this year and that was really awesome just to see how organizations like this really work for children … how it’s really impactful at a young age,” Sarver said.

The purpose of the trivia event was to be a practical and fun way to raise support for Mizzou Shaves Lives and St. Balderick’s. Teams consisting of 1-6 people competed in the event. Entry fees went toward the Mizzou Shaves Lives fund. Josh Ejnes, the emcee for the event, asked the participants questions ranging from, “What did the seven dwarves do for their jobs?” to “What color are white grapes?” At intermission, Ejnes shared some of his humor as entertainment.

When the trivia was finished, participants took the opportunity of the break to take pictures those who would be cutting or shaving their hair. Sophie Lustman joined Louise Sarver in donating hair, while Dogger was the only person to actually get his whole head shaved.

Sarver has had experience donating her hair in the past and felt this event would be another good opportunity to donate.

“I love my hair, it’s one of my favorite parts of my body…so if I can give that to someone else and share that I think that would be really cool,” she said.

Dogger started growing the hair on his head in December 2013, and he has been growing his beard since March 30, 2014. When asked whether it would be hard for him, Dogger responded:

“You know, it’s about that time. We had a good run together…we had a lot of good times. But, I think for the sake of my mother’s sanity, it’s time to shave.

Childhood cancer has the highest mortality rate in the U. S. than any other disease. This is why the St. Balderick’s Foundation works so hard to raise support for research that could heal children with cancer. There is a large financial need that exists for childhood cancer research — St. Balderick’s is trying to fill this gap. Mizzou Shaves Lives was able to help in the effort by raising a total of $5,851.

The lifestyle of a gypsy has been planted in my blood, and my past experiences of moving have taught me to be flexible with new places. Therefore, the place I call home is a hard subject to explain. Nebraska is where I was born and raised until the age of 12. My family and I lived in multiple locations in Nebraska before moving to Colorado in 2004. Colorado was my home until I graduated high school. My parents are originally from northwest Missouri; so, if I had to pick a place that most feels like home, it would be our family farm just north of Kansas City. My dad is now running his cow-calf operation off of this farm, and our home address is Smithville, Mo. Moving from place-to-place has developed my strongest passions of travel and experiencing new culture. My goal is to work as a social media strategist, using content marketing through social media platforms. I am excited to see what the future holds for the new path I have chosen.